Baby, Don't Move
by NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
Summary: Gone was the memory her tattoo, the memory of the racingsuperstar, the memory of the days when they could do anything. [LightningSally][Humanized][Oneshot][Strong Language]


**GOD I SUCK.**

**Why is Ellis downing herself? Well, I'm pretty much having this MASSIVE writers block in the way of Hidden, and I have no idea where it came from. Sad, yes? YES. Gr. So, to vent, I made this oneshot.**

**Rascal Flatts. 3 JOE DON ROONEYYYY. 3333 He he, I love them. Fast Cars and Freedom, a great song, I give credit to the writers for inspiring me with such a great song. I praise those country boys for singing it as well. Especially Joe. He's just hawt. :-p **

**WARNING: Strong language, if you no no like-y, go away.**

**OTHER WARNING: Humanized, OMGUHFUGHRSUHGUIS.**

_Starin' at you, takin' off your makeup_

_Wonderin' why you ever put it on_

"Um, for your information, Lighting McQueen, in case you didn't notice…" she started again. They're conversations always went like this. She would call him by his full name, because nobody knew his middle name, and he would just shake his head. Ever since those two years ago when she agreed to marry him… to say the least, it had been quite a past two years. "You nearly DIED! I'm not letting you go race again just because _it's you're destiny_! If it was, you wouldn't have been in that crash." She turned back to the mirror, and continued combing through her frizzy brunette hair with her fingers, merely in flannel pajama bottoms and a cami tank-top. It was near midnight, and Sally McQueen was an absolute mess. Her poor daughter, Alice, was crying her heart out, and there Lightning was, trying to convince her to let him go back into racing while she was tired and hazy of what life was like. Unfortunately, that never worked, simply because Sally was never hazy of what life was like.

"It was one crash," Lightning said with ease, trying to make it sound like racing was no big deal, and it was just a job. He looked to the mirror at himself, and realized that he was _not_ a mess, and what a relief that was. He didn't look bad for twenty-seven, merely in some boxers her randomly threw on. He shook his straightened dirty blonde hair as his stared at himself. No wonder Sally still found him attractive. "Ka-chow," he whispered to himself.

"DON'T!" she screamed at him, bloodshot eyes wide open. "If you give me that _ka-chow!_ shit one more time…" With that, she stopped. She didn't know what would happen if he didn't stop. If he said it again, then she might as well throw herself out the window, even though that would do no harm to her whatsoever. She staggered with the words "Just… don't!"

_I know you think you do, but baby, you don't need it_

_Wish that you could see what I see when it's gone_

There were days when she just wanted to leave the house with Alice and file for divorce, and there were days when she just wanted to rip her hair out, but nonetheless, this was her life, and Lightning was amazing, no matter how annoying he was. She laughed to herself. "You think I'm just a bitch, don't you." She didn't even try to ask, because she knew the answer already. "Wondering," she continued, turning on the sink and grabbing her tooth brush, managing to keep a straight face. "Why the _hell_ you married me."

Of course, Lightning wouldn't let her suffer thinking that. "I-"

"Too late, Stickers," she stated. "All too late. Maybe when we had that time when I could enjoy it." Sally put on a half smile. She was tired, hungry, and furious, but these were the nights that she longed for. She _wanted_ him to be upset that she was tired, hungry, and furious, because those were the night where they were getting along the most.

He scoffed. "You still can." He leaned into her ear, and started playing with her hair before saying, "Just remember that I'll never stop loving you." He brushed her hair aside from her rosy pink cheek and softly kissed it. "And if you're a bitch… anybody who watches that video really _will_ die in seven day," he joked, talking about the two minute video in the Ring that would kill somebody seven days after they watched the video. He always loved making fun of her, how she always freaked out that when she watched that movie, somebody would call within the next ten minutes and whisper _you have seven day_, and then hang up quickly, leaving her in a state of fear.

Her smile grew wide. He hadn't seen a smile like that from her since about a month ago, and he treasured those moments. She giggled like Mia and Tia would if Lightning had just said "hi" to them ignorantly. "That freaked me out." She couldn't help it. She wasn't the hugest fan of scary movies, though Lighting _loved_ them. So every once in a while, she had to sit through another running of the Ring or Chuckie, or some idiotic R-rated movie that would make her scream and run if nothing but a light switch was flipped on. "I seriously thought somebody was gonna call."

_I see a dust trail followin' an old red Nova_

_Baby blue eyes, your head on my shoulder_

He just smiled and asked, "You want me to take care of Alice?" It was rare when he asked this, because most of the time, when he _did_ ask, Sally would say no, because she was obviously the better half of the two when it came to parenting, and they both knew it.

"Nah," she responded quickly afterwards. "You know I'd do better anyway, so I'll save Alice some trouble." Her smile went back to being a half smile, and she sighed. Life wasn't always like this, tiring, boring, fearless, angry, and all those other things that they just couldn't explain. There was so much more to life when Lightning had his job.

But she would _never_ let him go back after what had happened.

The crash was a huge one.

About a year ago was when it happened, and it would've been Lighting's second Piston Cup in a row. The crowd was going absolutely wild. Everybody could see Chick's car right up his car's bumper, but nobody suspected anything. Chick had played it clean that whole season, and for some odd reason, everybody thought that he would this time, too.

That was, until, it actually happened.

Sally was right on the sidelines, watching for the pit crew, cheering her husband on. Everybody was there, celebrating once the last lap was starting, and nobody wanted anything bad to happen.

Funny how that wish bit them in the back.

Lexie, then a fifteen-year-old, auburn hair shining, screamed to Sally, "You're little baby's gonna be so happy that his dad was a Piston Cup racer, you know that?"

With that, Sally smiled wide. She looked down to her stomach, now five months into her pregnancy. She looked back to the track, and said "The baby will take after me, in that case."

Maybe had she looked at a different time, nothing bad would have happend.

All she remembered after that was watching that red stock car roll on the racetrack, and yelling "STICKERS!" out to the track, and seeing a moving blurb of green pass that finish line. The announcer confirmed "Leaving Lightning McQueen, number 95, in the dust, Chick Hicks, number 86, surges ahead to win the Piston Cup!"

But nobody cheered.

_Wait, baby, don't move_

_Right there it is_

Sally snapped back into reality once she didn't hear anything. How many times did this happen?

Alice wasn't crying.

It was a miracle! Had Alice just gone to bed by herself? Oh, the wonders that a little eight-month-old could do. Sally sighed with relief. It would save her some sleep that night, and she needed it.

Oddly enough, she didn't want to go to sleep.

Lightning was laughing as Sally returned back to earth, and he peaked into their bathroom, the other half of his body outside the door. "Did you just realize that I actually put her to sleep?"

_Oh._ That was why. Sally opened her mouth to a smile, and turned to him, shaking her head. "Sorry, I just…" She looked back to the mirror, and her smile faded quickly. "I remembered what it was like." She looked down to her wrist, and stared at it for a bit. Who knew that a little pin-striped tattoo could have such an effect on her? Tears started forming in her eyes.

_A t-shirt hangin' off a dogwood branch_

_That river was cold, but we gave love a chance, yeah_

She didn't cry as much as she used to, but this night would happen to be an exception.

Once the first tear rolled down her cheek, the light shined on it, and it blinded Lightning with worry for his wife. He walked over and dared to ask "What's _it_?"

She leaned onto the bathroom sink and bent her elbow. Sliding on to floor, water flowed through her eyes as she let out another sigh. "It's just a bunch of shit," she tried to assure him.

She couldn't even get away with assuring herself.

She wasn't seeing how life was back then, but how she _felt_ it made her burst out into tears. They had taken it all away. Gone was the memory her tattoo, the memory of the racing-superstar, the memory of the days when they could do anything. Those days were gone. "I'm just scared," she choked out through her crying. "I don't…" Before she continued, she took a deep breath. "I've become so fucked up because of the crash."

_To me, you don't look a day over fast cars and freedom_

_That sunset, riverbank, first time feelin'_

"You're still holding a toothbrush."

"God damn it, I don't care!" Sally nearly whispered. "I just want it back, but I don't want _you_ to go back to racing." She shook her head at herself and looked up to the wall. She threw the toothbrush at it with a grunt. "Look at me, Lightning. I have no idea how you still love me when I'm like _this_."

He couldn't say anything.

Not anything that would make her feel the least bit better.

"Damn it…." he started to say. "I don't…" he choked on his words, and they didn't come out the right way. He wasn't going to talk.

He just bent down and put his hand under her chin to force her eyes to look straight into his. "Do you see this?" Lightning asked.

Sally's head went around by surprise, but she was already feeling the least bit better. Nonetheless, the least bit wasn't helping much. "I see you," she managed out.

_Yeah, smile and shake your head as if you don't believe me_

_I'll just sit right here and let you take me back_

Lightning put on a smile, and couldn't do much else, other than stare at her. She was a mess in her eyes, but in his, she was still the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen. Her baby blue eyes with her brunette hair wasn't a normal match, but she looked gorgeous with them both. "That's all you need to see." He leaned in a little closer so his lips slightly brushed hers. He left it at that to say one more thing. "And god kill me if you're not all I see." He leaned in again for a much more affective kiss than before, attempting to make Sally feel better.

But Sally broke up the kiss and just looked into Lightning's eyes. "You _are_ all I see," she said, this time smiling, but still crying. "I don't want it to be any more than that."

But that was a lie, and she knew it.

Her smile faded away into a frown. She had never exactly told Lightning _why_ she wouldn't let him go back into racing. I _don't even know,_ she tried to convince herself. _It's just because I don't like it._

That was a lie, too.

"You're scared."

Scared.

"Scared of losing me."

Scared of losing him.

If that wasn't the truth, then God knew alone what it was.

"Oh, Lightning…" If only she could tell him that was the truth. How come she hadn't said it yet? Why was she holding back?

She didn't even want to look back on that tragic week in 2007.

_I'm on that gravel road, look at me, on my way to pick you up_

_Standin' on the front porch lookin' just like that_

The stands at the Kentucky International Speedway were filled with faces covered in tears of both fear and hope. All for Lightning.

It had been about twenty minutes since the race ended, but only about five people (who happened to be Chick Hicks fans) left the stadium. They were all praying to God, asking for the same thing. _Please don't let Lightning be dead! It's all just for fun, racing is…_ Why did such a good race that was about to end it happiness end in tragedy?

Nobody was more upset than two girls in the pit crew of Lightning McQueen, and those two were Sally McQueen and Lexie Gears.

Both were crying, Lexie in confusion, Sally scared as hell. Neither of them wanted Lightning to die. All those years, wasted.

Sirens rung from outside the stadium, and people finally cheered. At least _now_ they had a chance.

But Lexie didn't wait for them. She ran as fast as she could onto the racetrack as soon as all the cars were off it and slid down on her knees once she was close enough to the car.

Only an hour ago, this car was clean, tires full of air, not a scratch on it. Now there was dirt all over it, the tires were nearly popped, and the scratches were everywhere you could think of. Lexie peaked into the broken window, and saw an upside-down Lightning, bruised, bleeding, eyes shut. She looked for a hole in the window, and once she found one big enough, she stuck her hand in and put her finger under his nose.

He wasn't breathing.

After feeling absolutely nothing for five seconds, Lexie realized that the ambulance was nearly on the track, so she pulled her hand out of the hole, but she didn't think, and her arm connected to the sharp edge of the glass in the window. She winced in pain but kept pulling. But as soon as her eyes opened again, she didn't want to look again. Blood was now just not on Lightning, it was all over her arm, and the cut was huge. She pulled faster, and the cut stretched from a little below her elbow to the start of her index finger. It didn't hurt much, but god, it looked horrible. Fortunately for Lexie, the cut didn't go that deep, and she would soon find out from the ambulance that all she needed was a bandage and no stitches. She ran back to where the pit stop for Lightning was, and fell back onto the grass with a sigh of relief for herself.

"Lexie, you're insane," Sally said, falling down with her. "What gave you the idea to put your arm through all that broken glass? You're gonna need stitches and-"

"Actually," Lexie interrupted. "It really doesn't hurt that much. I think I'll just need a really, _really_ long band-aid."

Sally laughed a little through her tears. It seemed as if Lexie was done crying, and was just happy with her fortune of a cut that wouldn't jeopardize her life. "What were you doing, anyway?"

But Lexie didn't want her to know.

_I see a dust trail followin' an old red Nova_

_Baby blue eyes, your head on my shoulder_

"Damn it!" Sally said again as she started to cry again. What was with her and these flashbacks she always had? She sure had them a lot. "God, not again…" She wiped her right eye, stopping a few tears before they even started.

Lightning beat her to the left eye and wiped both tears that were falling and were about to fall. He hadn't _just_ realized why his wife was always one to tell him not to go back into racing, but he never realized how bad it was. Sally had kept most of this in, never calling herself "fucked up," not caring what Lightning thought, no crazy blank-out moments where she would just think, but now these moments had finally come, and Lightning didn't want her to suffer it anymore. He gave her a long kiss on the cheek, and looked straight back into her eyes. "Sally, I just…" he said, trying to put his thoughts into words. "Look. You are not fucked up. You, I think, are scared of what would happen if I was in a worse wreck. And while I admit I was _very_ lucky…" He started to look down and his eyes wandered to Sally's tattoo. "When I was racing, you just weren't this upset. And…" He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her, and Sally did the same, but he stopped right before their lips brushed. "I don't want you to go through this. I love you too much."

_Wait, baby, don't move_

_Right there it is_

Sally finally started the kiss after he said that he "loved her too much," and she was suddenly filled with joy. Sure, she was just thinking of those moments where she was hearing words of doubt from the doctors, saying he wouldn't make it, but she had just forgotten all that. She was exactly where she wanted to be with Lightning, totally in love with each other. Lightning deepened the kiss and brushed his hand through her hair. They were already too far gone into the kiss to go back into the real world. They didn't care about the real world right now. Only about each other.

But then they heard a car.

Sally opened one eye, but continued to kiss Lightning, slowing it down a bit, realizing he wasn't in their moment anymore either. He broke up the kiss, and gave a half smile to her. She returned the smile, giggling a bit, too. "I'll come back to you," she said. He nodded with a bigger smile.

They both knew who was in the car.

Sally stood up as Lightning did the same, and they both went out different doors. One lead to their room, the other lead to the hallway, which ultimately led to the outdoors, where the car would be parked, carrying four empty bottles of Coke, one half drunk, the last full, not opened. The car was a Lexus. A bright pink one. The year 2007. Convertible. A girl named Lexie was inside it. "Hey, little sis," Sally joked to her as she jumped over where the door into the passengers seat. Lexie looked over to her, smiled. She turned back to looking out to the front of the car with a sigh.

"Hey, Sal-ster," Lexie said with a giggle. "How's life?"

"Meh," Sally sighed. "Decent. Enough." They both laughed, but they didn't mean it. After about five seconds, all they could hear was the wind blowing.

"He broke up with me. Again."

_A t-shirt hangin' off a dogwood branch_

_That river was cold, but we gave love a chance_

Sally looked over to Lexie. A tear was rolling down the teenager's cheek, and it just wouldn't stop falling. "Oh, Lexie…" This wasn't the first time Sally was up their in that car with her. It started once Lexie got her drivers licenses. Sally never remembered exactly what was going to happen next, whether Lexie's three year on-and-off boyfriend, Wingo, would break up or make up, but no matter what the case, Lexie would come up to Wheel Well and just watch the world spin around in endless circles. Almost like watching their relationship. "That's horrible, sis."

"I'm sick of it," Lexie responded. "I hate watching so many successful relationships, my parents, Doc and Elle, you and Lightning, it's so depress-"

"Lightning and I don't always get along, Lexie. I mean…"

That wasn't _really_ a lie, but Lightning and Sally were perhaps the golden celebrity couple. If they were going to last longer than Jenifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, then they would spend their whole life together. They were both pretty determined, and it was working. Lexie looked over to Sally and shook her head. "Shut up, you guys are so cute together! Not to mention you guys are just so sweet to each other. I don't know how you do it! Nobody does."

Sally finally sighed with water in her eyes. She didn't know how they did it either, but things were even better about a year ago.

_To me, you don't look a day over fast cars and freedom_

_That sunset, riverbank, first time feelin', yeah_

"Even though…" Lexie started again. "You do know why it's not the same, don't you?"

Sally blinked away her tears, and she shook her head with regret. Everybody knew now. Lightning, now Lexie. And she knew, too.

She stood up in the car and jumped over the door again, this time much faster. She rushed to the door and spun the knob as fast as she could ever. Before she actually left Lexie, Lexie managed to ask, "Sally, what the _hell_ are you doing?" And with this, she just shook her head again, more tears falling off her cheek and her chin.

"I'm going back to fast cars and freedom."

She jerked the door opened and slammed it. She ended up walking to the door that led to the bedroom. Why she was about to do this, after having rejected the idea about ten minutes ago, she didn't know. But she was doing it. Slowly, this time, she turned the door knob as tears fell to her arm. She pushed the door open quietly, in hopes of not waking up their daughter. It was only a matter of time until they would remember this night forever. She walked into the dark room and shut the door.

_I see a dust trail followin' an old red Nova_

_Baby blue eyes, your head on my shoulder_

Lightning turned around and faced his crying wife. He sighed and whispered, "Hey, babe," with a half smile. Walking closer, he realized why she wanted to suffer the pain of no fun, secretly needing it, but knowing that she could never go back. He started to lean in, just to give her a goodnight kiss.

"Yes."

_Yes?_

Why did Sally randomly, of all things, say yes?

"Great," Lightning said sarcastically. "Yes _what_?"

This time, Sally was crying tears of joy. Lightning didn't realize it until he saw her face from the moonlight shining from outside the window, but she was smiling. And that smile was one he hadn't seen since a year ago. "Go back," she said. "Go back into racing. Yes."

Lightning blinked once. He slightly shook his head, and Sally just laughed at him for that.

He was in awe.

All that happened after that was perfect. He laughed to himself, as she giggled even more. And that goodnight kiss was a little more than that.

_You don't look a day over fast cars and freedom_

_That sunset, riverbank, first time feelin'_

**Eh, me gosh. 3,808 words. Longest story I'll ever write. ;-) In one chapter at least. Sorry for the stupid ending. Ha ha, what was I thinking?**

**Well, it's my first oneshot… just review it. :-D**


End file.
